Episode Summary
In this episode, Wang Luyan gets a new job from Ba Jin that saves his family, but his new bookstore venture leads him to discover a piracy ring. His decision to sue the pirates sets off a political firestorm, as enemy agents plot to use the lawsuit to shut down all pro-Communist media in the region. The Party tries to intervene, but Wang Luyan's refusal forces them to ask Ba Jin for help.
Spoiler Alert
A Lifeline for a Starving Family
The episode opens with Wang Luyan at home. His kids are crying from hunger. It's a rough scene. He's just waiting for his wife, Qin Ying, to get back with some corn meal.
She finally returns. And she has good news. She brought back rice flour instead. She explains that she ran into the famous writer, Ba Jin. He helped her out. The family gets to eat a full meal, and it feels like a huge victory. Qin Ying tells her husband he should go visit Ba Jin to properly thank him.
An Unexpected Job Offer
Wang Luyan goes to Ba Jin's house. He bumps into another writer, Ai Wu, right at the door. It's a nice little reunion for them. Inside, Ba Jin introduces everyone to his fiancée, Xiao Shan. He tells the story of how they met. She started as a loyal reader of his work. Then she became his student. Now they're planning to spend their lives together.
The meeting isn't just social, though. Ba Jin has a proposal. He asks Wang Luyan to be the president of the Guilin branch for his magazine, Cultural Life. He also offers the financial accountant job to Wang Luyan's wife, Qin Ying. Just like that, their money problems are solved. Their family won't have to go hungry anymore.
New Problems at the Bookstore
The Party officially approves Ren Suning's application to join. She believes that any action against the Japanese invasion is the right choice right now.
Wang Luyan's new life is busy. He runs a bookstore during the day and writes. One day, a secret police chief walks in. He's suspicious about the new shop. He notices all the books by Lu Xun. The chief asks Wang Luyan why he stocks so many. He's clearly looking for trouble.
Wang Luyan doesn't know who this guy is. He answers honestly. He says Lu Xun is a pioneer of the national revolution. The chief's face darkens. He asks who gave Lu Xun that title. Wang Luyan realizes this is a bad situation. He quickly makes an excuse about needing to clean up and closes the store early.
Spotting a Fake
Later, a student is browsing in the bookstore. He's a huge reader. He tells Wang Luyan he wants to study abroad so he can come back and fight the Japanese. Wang Luyan is moved by his passion and gives him a book for free.
Then the student mentions another book he just read. He says the content is excellent. Wang Luyan takes a look. He realizes it's his own work. But there's a problem. He never finished writing it. He only gave the rights to a publisher in Guangxi for serialization. It was never supposed to be published as a full book. This is clearly a pirated copy. The student gives him the address of the bookstore where he bought it. Wang Luyan goes there himself and finds tons of pirated books from many different authors.
The Writers Fight Back
Wang Luyan is not having it. He calls a meeting with all the other writers whose work was stolen. They all agree on one thing. They want Wang Luyan to lead a lawsuit against the pirate bookstore. They decide to split the legal fees.
Word of the lawsuit against the bookstore owner, Wang Wenbin, travels fast. It reaches Li Kenong. He's already done some digging. He knows Wang Wenbin is just a small fish. The real person benefiting from the bookstore is Wen Yanbai. He's the director of the Guangxi Literary Association.
Li Kenong is worried. Suing a powerful figure like Wen Yanbai could get messy. It might jeopardize the Communist Party's fragile cooperation in Guilin. It could also attract a lot of unwanted attention from other secret organizations.
A Simple Lawsuit Gets Complicated
Wen Yanbai is furious that his illegal income stream is threatened. He takes a gold bar to Liu Hancao, an official in the political department, looking for a bribe. At first, Liu Hancao isn't interested. He thinks it's a minor issue not worth his time.
But then he gets a new directive. The Nationalist government does not want the Communist Party controlling public opinion in Guangxi. This changes everything. Liu Hancao immediately changes his mind and contacts Wen Yanbai.
The Real Target
Liu Hancao agrees to help, but he has a condition. He wants Wen Yanbai to make the lawsuit a huge public spectacle. The plan is devious. They will let the controversy grow. Then, the political department will use the chaos as an excuse. They'll claim the newspapers and bookstores are disrupting social order. This will give them the cover they need to shut down every single bookstore and newspaper connected to the Communist Party. To make sure it works, Liu Hancao even visits the local judge to pressure him into escalating the case.
A Desperate Plea
The Party learns about this entire scheme. Their first move is to talk to Wang Luyan. They ask him to drop the lawsuit. They push him to settle out of court to avoid the trap.
But Wang Luyan refuses. He's standing on principle. He believes this is about his rights as a writer. Since he won't budge, the Party is forced to try another angle. Xia Yan goes to find Ba Jin. He hopes Ba Jin can explain the dangerous political stakes and convince Wang Luyan to back down.
